When the Clock Stops
by silkplants
Summary: Matthew and Gilbert grew up without soulmates, but they might still be able to find one. Prucan, background USUK, Spamano, and FrancexBelarus
Matthew remembered the day he lost his soulmate.

"Mama! Mama, something is wrong with my watch!" Matthew, a young boy of thirteen called, running up to his mother and raising his wrist. He had been in their backyard, though he was approaching the house with great speed. He pointed to his watch, the tool that would count down the seconds until he met his soulmate. The boy frowned as he studied the accessory. Instead of ticking away like it should and usually would be, both the clock's hands were still. The time was stuck at five years, three days.

His mother, an aging woman of thirty-eight, looked down at her son, a frown growing on her face. She seemed a lot older then, which made a knot of uneasiness grow in Matthew's stomach. "Matthew, sweetie..I..I'm sorry.." She murmured, shaking her head. His mother took him by the hand, walking back to their house in a quiet manner. Leading Matthew inside, she shut the door and explained his situation. Matthew Williams no longer had a soulmate.

Matthew grew up with a sense of hopelessness that his brother nor any of his friends had. He was happy for Alfred when he came home to their shared apartment, witty and sarcastic Arthur at his side. But, it hurt to know that he would never find that connection with someone else. When Arthur moved in, Matthew moved out, finding himself a home across town.

Gilbert remembered the day he lost his soulmate.

Gilbert Beilschmidt was a fifteen year old notorious for causing trouble. Though, he wasn't up to anything now. At this moment he was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring down at his wrist as the digital clock counted down. Just twelve hours. That's all. In twelve hours he was going to meet his soulmate. He added the time in his head. If it was one a.m now, he would meet his soulmate in the late morning. He was grinning like an idiot, counting down the minutes. Then, his watch stopped, coming to an abrupt halt at eleven hours, fifty-seven minutes. He tapped on his watch, his eyes widening in horror as it refused to continue it's countdown. Gilbert tried to get it to work for what felt like hours, coming to eventual tears, which turned into loud sobs. He gave up, at last, any hope of meeting his fated 'other half' shattering.

Years passed, and Gilbert had to plaster a smile on his lips on many occasions. Once, when his brother met a bubbly Italian. Gilbert had given a bright grin. Clapping him on the back, he bellowed a "Congratulations!". He took Francis and his new lover Natalya out for drinks, and he was there when Antonio met Lovino. But the whole time he knew it would never be his turn to meet his soulmate.

As time went on, Gilbert soon found himself to be twenty-four. He'd come to terms with being by himself, though he decided that he didn't have to like it. "Alright, Gil, get up, you promised to meet with Ludwig later.." He muttered under his breath, rolling out of bed. Gilbert went to his wardrobe, pulling out a 'decent' pair of sweatpants and a plain t-shirt. He got himself something to eat, then noticed the time. "Shit- I'm gonna be late!" He finished his breakfast, hurrying out of his house and down the street.

He called his brother, talking to him as he bolted down the pavement. "Hey West, look, I'm gonna be a little later than expected, 'kay? I know you're alright with it!" He grinned, turning the corner. "Luddy, I just had breakfast, you guys can eat without m-" He crashed into someone. He dropped his phone in the collision, but at the moment he was more concerned about whoever he knocked down. "Shit, shit I'm sorry...should've been watching where I was running, huh?" He knelt beside the man. He had shoulder length blond hair a pair of large, round glasses, which were on the ground. Gilbert picked them up, handing them to him with a sigh. The man shook his head. "No, no, it's alright.." He murmured, his voice rather soft. He took the glasses. "Thanks, I should get going and-" He put on his glasses, blinking and meeting Gilbert's eyes.

The watches fell off, hitting the pavement with a clatter.

Gilbert just stared at his watch for a while, his pale face managing to lighten even further. He rubbed his eyes, blinking. "But that isn't possible.." He mumbled under his breath, looking back up at the person he had bumped into. This...person..looked as disbelieving as Gilbert was, the blond's blue-lavender eyes looking back up. "My soulmate died, I don't have a soulmate.." The stranger whispered to himself. Gilbert just stared at him for a while. "Huh...it's um..it's Matthew, if you're wondering. My name." The man- no, Matthew, said, sitting back to look at Gilbert.

Gilbert nodded, and picked up his watch, trying to reattach it to his wrist. It didn't, and the watch slipped off, hitting the sidewalk again. Gilbert took a deep breath, looking back at Matthew and looking him over. "My name is Gil-er, Gilbert, actually." He offered, standing. In all honesty Matthew was pretty cute, even though he was taller than Gilbert. If the self-proclaimed Prussian was honest with himself, he used to imagine his soulmate looking a lot like this. He held his hand out to Matthew, who took it and stood up as well, brushing himself off. "So.." Matthew started, though he didn't say anything more. He rubbed his arm, seeming nervous as he looked at Gilbert.

Gilbert cleared his throat. "Look...this could be..a mistake.." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I think we should give it a shot, okay?" He offered a smile. "I'm was goin' over to my brother's house, so you could come with me, or we could do something else!"

Then Matthew thought about it, kneeling down and picking up Gilbert's phone. As he handed it to him, he nodded. "That sounds fine. Yeah. Let's give it a shot."

Gilbert grinned, and grabbed Matthew by the hand, leading him down the pavement. And in the end, it was never a mistake at all.


End file.
